OCR Text |
Show NO SAFEGUARDS j TO SAVE SHIPS; British Had No Power to Prevent Pre-vent Scuttling of Interned In-terned Vessels. WASHINGTON'. lune 27 No effective effec-tive measures could have been taken ; by tho iiriti-.b admiralty to prevent , scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow without violating tho terms ot the armistice, said a statement issued by tho British embassy. The fact that the ships were merely intvrned and not surend red, said the statement, prevented placing of armed guards on board. Even had this been done. I it was said, it would not have been a guarantee against the sinking of the ships, because the Gorman crews with their export knowledge of the complex valve machinery, would have found it a comparatively easy matter to open the valves without detection. It wu3 originally recommended to the allied naval council by the naval adviser of 'he British admiralty, the statement said, that the armistice terms provide for surrender instead of , internment of the German ships, but; the recommendation, it was said, was , overruled by the council. "It should be clearly understood," the embassy statement said, "that the -decision of the German ships to be interned and not surrendered was I made by the heads of the allied gov-I gov-I ernments. "If a British guard had been put on J i board these ships, it would have been an unquestionable breaen of the terms of tho armistice Admiral von Reuter stated verbally on his own responsibility, be had given giv-en orders for the ships to be sunk, being under the impression that the armistice had ceased on Saturday. "Great Britain acted in this matter as she h"3 acted on every other matter mat-ter in this war. She has adhered to tho terms of the armistice " oo |